Display shape retaining device for garments



Aug. 4, 1942. A MSULLO HAL 2,291,820

DISPLAY SHAPE RETAINING DEVICE FOR GARMENTS Filed July l2, 1941 CD7 ,CL4 /g Umllll'lllllll I 15b T\ Patented ug. 4, 1942 srres GFFICE.

DISPLAY SHAPE RETAINING DEVCE. FOR GARMENTS Anthony Masullo, Ozone Park, and Irving Rosenkranz and Abraham Taylor, New York, N. Y.

3 Claims.

This invention relates to display shape retaining devices for garments and more particularly is directed to an improved adjustable means for retaining the shape of shirts, sweaters, jackets and the like in an original smooth, folded, stretched condition so that the appearance thereof will be enhanced when exhibited for show purposes.

Among the objects of the invention is to generally improve devices of the character described which shall comprise few and simple parts that are readily assembled to form a compact structure, which shall be cheap to manufacture, which is easy and convenient to insert and remove from an originally smooth folded garment Without crumpling or otherwise disarranging, and which shall be practical and eilicient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown various possible illustrative embodiments of this invention:

1 is a front elevational view of a shirt folded as it is originally delivered from the manufacturer, having inserted in a concealed position therein an improved adjustable shape retaining device constructed to embody the invention in practical use, adjusted to smoothly stretch the shirt front portion, the device being indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional vievv taken on line 2-2 in Fig. 1, the folded shirt being indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational View of the improved adjustable device removed from the shirt in its maximum expanded position;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View taken on line -d in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of the eX- panded adjustable device shown in Fig, 3, partly broken away to show the interior construction, and

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view showing the improved adjustable device in contracted position ready for insertion in folded garments.

It has been found that in displaying garments, such as shirts, sweaters, jackets and the like articles in show Windows and counter exhibits in the same original smooth folded condition as when they leave the manufacturer and are received by the retailer, particularly when placed in an upstanding or depending position, it is advisable to insert in such garments between the folds thereof a shape retaining device for holding the front of such garments in a smoothly spread condition so that the appearance thereof will be enhanced. Heretofore, cardboards, pins and the like have usually been used for such purpose, the insertion of which requires considerable time, patience and painstaking assembly, otherwise the folded garment will be unduly creased and rendered unt for sale as first class merchandise. When using pins with cardboard to retain the smooth stretched folded condition of the front portion of the garment, pin holes and creases are invariably produced in other parts of the garment resulting in a4 reduction of the value of the garment after being so displayed and returned to stock so that such garments must have their sales price reduced as shopworn goods due to such handling. Losses and decrease in valuation will therefore be entirely eliminated by the use of the improved adjustable shape retaining device embodying the invention.

Referring now in detail tothe drawing, Il] denotes an adjustable garment display shape retaining device constructed to embody the invention in a form suitable for inserting in a folded shirt S. Said shirt S may be origin-ally folded in the usual well understood manner as delivered by the manufacturer to the retailer with the opposite sides E of the body and the sleeves (not shown) infolded to extend alongthe back side and the bottom portion U upturned so that the front portion F of the shirt S with the collar C appears as shown in Fig. 1, the device I0 being 40 positioned behind the back and said front portion F, :and embraced between the side fold portions E and upturned portion U as indicated in Fig. 2. The shirt S with the device IU adjusted in the manner hereinafter described may now be used as a unit for exhibit, show windows or other display purposes.

The device I0 preferably comprises a pair of symmetrically shaped ilat plates l I and l2 which maybe substantially of rectangular shape to conform to the shape of the contour front F of the folded garment S. The top border portions lla and I2@ of said plates Il and l2, respectively, if desired, may have a slight taper corresponding to the upper part or shoulder portion of the shirt S as seen from Figs. 1, 3 and 6. Said platesll and I2 have their front surfaces IIb and I2b, respectively, disposed in a plane which is adapted to form a smooth supporting backing for the front portion F of the folded shirt S, said plates II and I2 being mounted for movement to and away from each other by a suitable pin and slot connecting means with the front surfaces IIb and I2b thereof retained in the same plane. Said pin and slot connecting means may include a circular disc member I3 firmly attached or forming an integral part of the plate I2, and as here shown extending rearwardly from the back side of said plate I2. Said disc member I3 preferably is located along the upper inner side edge portion I2b of the plate I2 inwardly of the upper edge I2a as is clearly shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6. For retaining the plate II for limited sliding movement with respect to plate I 2 the disc member I3 may have a radial slot or elongated opening I3a which extends outwardly at right angles with respect to said inner edge portion I2b of the plate I2, said slot ISa being adapted to receive a pin or dowel I4 carried by the plate II for sliding movement.

The periphery of the circular disc I3 provides a pivotal bearing on which a cam member I5 is rotatively mounted, there being provided a rear backing plate I6 spaced from the back side of the plate I2 to overlie the rear side of the disc and the cam member I5, a ller piece II being interposed between said front plate I2 and rear backing plate I6 serving as a spacer. The filler plate I'I is of sufficient thickness to permit the cam member I5 to freely rotate on the disc member I3. The rear backing plate I6 preferably extends from the inner side edge I2b of plate I2 just short of the outer edge I2c thereof but is made suiiiciently wide to cover the underlying portions of the disc I3 and cam member I5. Said backing plate I6 may also be shaped to provide an outwardly projecting portion Ilia to serve as an aligning abutment for the portion of cam member I5 extending beyond plate edge I2b and the adjacent cooperating portion of the front plate II as is seen from Figs. 3 and 5.

The front plate II also has a rear backing plate I8 which is mounted to said front plate II through an interposed ller piece I9. The rear backing plate I8 and filler piece I9 are preferably of the same thickness as the backing plate IB and the filler piece I'I, respectively. The pin or dowel I4 extends from the front plate I2 and through the slot opening Ia of the disc member I3 to the rear backing plate I6, thus forming the slot and pin connecting means so as to interlock the moving portions of the device I9 against separation. The backing plate I8 may be cut back at I8a to conform to the projecting portion IBa of backing plate I6.

, The cam member I5 has substantially one-half thereof formed with a semi-circular shaped camming surface I5a which is concentric with the inner surface I5b which rotates about the disc member I3. The remaining portion I5c of the cam member I5 is wider than the portion adjacent to the surface I5a so that when outer bearing surface I5d of said portion I 5c comes in contact with a surface I'Ia provided on the ller piece I'I, the plates II and I2 are shifted apart and separated, thus forming an expanding adjustment for the device I0, the filler piece I9 being shaped to permit unrestricted rotation of the portion I5al between edge portion I9a thereof and the disc member I3, as is clearly shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 6. The cam member I5 may also be provided with a suitably shaped extending portion I5d which serves as a finger piece for manipulating the rotation thereof.

Plates II and I2, disc member I3, cam member I5, filler pieces I1 and I9 and backing plates I6 and I8 may be constructed of so-called plastic sheet material or formed of any suitable stiff laminated structures, as for example, wood, paper, cloth, or the like sheet material.

The plate I2, disc member I3, filler piece Il and backing plate I6 form a unitary section of device I0, while plate II, filler piece I9 and backing plate I8 form another unitary section with the cam member I5 interlocking said two unitary sections. This interlockment, it is seen, interconnects the parts of the unit sections of said device I0 through the pin and slot connection means in the manner above explained, the disc member I3 permitting sufficient play to allow alignment of the outer edges Ilc and I2C of the plates II and I2 respectively, to conform With any irregularities in the folding of the shirt side edge folds E, permitting a slight swinging movement about the pin and slot connection means.

With the parts constructed and assembled as above described and shown in the drawing, the practical application of device I 9 will now be apparent` With the handle portion I5d of the cam memberY I5 swung in the position shown in Fig. 6, the device is in the contracted position and can be readily inserted in originally folded shirt S to take the concealed position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. By merely swinging the handle I5d of the cam member I5 from the position shown in'Fig. 6 towards a position shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the unit sections are shifted apart `and the device I0 expanded. The outer edges IIc and I2C of the plates II and I2 respectively, become self-aligning and the front surfaces stretch the shirt front F smooth as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The friction of the cam member I5 between the disc member I3 and the surfaces I Ia and I9a of the filler pieces I'I and I9, respectively, serves to retain any adjustment of the disc cam in an adjusted position of the device I0 for stretching smooth the front portion F of the folded shirt S.

To remove the device I 9, the handle I5d is simply returned to the position shown in Fig. 6 and the device I0 removed from the folded shirt S without disturbing or otherwise disarranging the original fold thereof. The shirt S can then be returned to stock as first class merchandise in the same condition as received from the manufacturer.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device whereby the several objects of this invention are achieved and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described the invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A display shape-retaining device of the character described comprising a pair of flat plates having front surfaces lying in a single plane, interlocking means for shifting said plates apart a desired spaced distance after inserting the device between the .folded opposite side edge and bottom portions of a garment with said surfaces, said interlocking means including a disk member rigidly extending from the rear surface of one of said plates, a cam rotatably mounted on the disc member, a slot and pin connecting means interconnecting the other plate and the disc member permitting shifting movement of the plates to and away from each other, and a bearing surface spaced from said slot and pin connecting means supported by the last mentioned plate for contacting the cam to shift said plates apart and for retaining the plates in an effective adjusted position between said garment folds, said cam coacting with the bearing surface and pin and slot connecting means being constructed and arranged to allow self-aligning movement of opposite edge portions of said plates with respect to each other within the garment folds for conforming with possible irregularities in said garment folds and for retaining the garment front portion smoothly stretched on said plate surfaces.

2. The display shape-retaining device defined in claim 1 in which said cam has a linger piece extending in a direction towards a top end of the device for rotating the cam, said nger piece terminating a short distance from said top end and within the edge border of said plates when the cam is located in an enective position.

3. The display shape-retaining device defined in claim 1 in which the slot of said pin and slot connecting means extends radially with respect to the disc for guiding the shifting movement of said plates in the direction of the length of said 15 slot.

ANTHONY MASULLO. IRVING ROSENKRANZ. ABRAHAM TAYLOR. 

